Episode 20 : The King of the Frontier - Part 1

"Oui ..."

"Aye--"

"Eeeeear."

 Faintly, a voice calling to each other was echoing around "Oni ga Iwa", which cast a long shadow in the evening sun.

"Are you okay?"

"Are you hurt?"

 Oni ga Iwa is a large and strange-looking rock located near Gutoushan and far to the east of the Oasis. It is not only one rock, but a number of black rocks standing in a row, all of which have strange and bizarre shapes, so that the reddish color of the setting sun from time to time makes the area look like a meeting place of deformed giants.

 And there, one by one, the limping, battered, wounded little ape-men were gathering...

 That was all that remained of the Semites after their horrible defeat.

"Is there a cult? Did the cult get hit?"

 And Sheba of the tribe of Lach, who had been ordered by Roto, and who was in charge of these defeated herds, called out to each of the herds, seeking the appearance of the chief.

"Tubai is . . the Tubai of the Tubai people."

"Tubai's been hit."

 The young man of the tribe replied gravely. Because they are not a very numerous race to begin with, the damage inflicted on the Tsubai of the Idoma seems to have been enormous.

"The cult is here."

"Oh-- cult, you're okay."

 Lak and Rasa are related by nature. Roto, relieved, reached out his hand and hugged his old friend tightly.

"The cult is safe. But many of Lhasa's young men have been killed."

 The cult said, turning its blood-stained face away from him.

"So is Rak."

"Raccoon is the least likely to be harmed."

 He replied absently that he did not feel like accepting such a consolation.

"Lhasa has been wiped out."

"That's not true. You will have children and raise them."

"A lot of women in Lhasa died, too."

 The cult didn't want to hear it.

"The cult girl is dead, too."

 The Lhasa chief sat down on a rock and began to mourn with a sorrowful groaning voice.

"They're all dead."

"Glo--glo?"

 Shrugging his shoulders, Shiva left Curt to his grief and got on with his work.

"Is Iracelli safe?"

"No--"

 Glo's large young warrior was wounded in both arms and legs.

"Iracelli is dead."

 He said as he had his friends sprinkle herbs all over his limbs.

"The Red Devil and the White Devil of Om split Iracheli's head in two. Iracelli fell and was trampled by a horse. A white slime flowed from his head."

"Is Iracelli dead?"

 Sheba nodded. There was no doubt that the big hero leading Guro was a very encouraging ally for Shem.

"Tubai is dead. Iracelli is dead."

"For now, Iracelli's son will serve as chief until the next formal meeting to choose a chief."

 said the black Gloom, who had risen from the side of a large, wounded warrior.

"It's Utari."

"Utari. How many people died in the grotto?"

"A lot of them."

 It was like he was spitting in my face.

"I'm alive."

 Shiva was startled by a loud voice.

"Oh . Gaulo."

 He is Gauro, chief of the Karoi tribe. He has a wound on his shoulder, but he seems to be in good health, and his spirit and ferocity seem to be increasing.

"How did you get through that swarm of ohms?"

 Sheba didn't like Gauro, but she couldn't help shouting.

"The Karoi lost a castle in Om. I don't think we're in that much trouble."

 Gauro replied arrogantly. Sheba counts the Karoi gathered around Gauro with his eyes, and then returns to Loto.

"Iracelli and Tubai have been killed. Gauro and Kalt are safe. Guro's not even half alive. Almost all the Tubai. Lhasa's only a family. The Karoi have survived quite well... and the Rak, though many have died, have lived rather well."

 The Semites do not have a very large concept of numbers. Sheba's report was not very clear. In short, the Semitic army, which had finally numbered seven thousand when Karoi joined it, had dwindled to a few thousand in a single morning.

 Roto nodded and looked around the rock in silence. Apparently, he had dodged the persistent pursuit of Mongol's army and fled to the rocky ground, so he should not be threatened by Mongol's army, at least for the time being.

"How long will Orm be dead?"

 Roto says in a low voice.

"Half of them aren't dead. They barely lost one man while Shem lost three or four."

"Mm."

 Roto seemed to be pondering over the increasingly desperate situation.

 What a miserable army it was. We lost two of the five tribal leaders and the warriors suffered even more.

 Most of the people who were carried away were injured and lay limp leaning against the rocks, and those who tried to treat them were also injured in some way or another.

 The wounded moaned and cried incessantly, and when their cries became too loud, they were stuffed with grass in their mouths lest the enemy army should notice them. They were broken or destroyed in their flight, and there was not enough water for them, and even less food. These were they, the people of the desert. Some dozens of them, who were in good health, were ordered to go out to gather food, but they could not go very far, so they had little chance.

"Lotto."

"What the hell, Sheba?"

"Will the Om be looking for us?"

"Um--"

 A pained expression appeared on Roto's old white face. With this number of men, it was no longer possible to stand up to the Mongol army, which still numbered no less than six or seven thousand, let alone prepare a formation.

"Let's run."

 Sheba was startled by a voice from the side. A cult with a number of headmen was staring at Lotho.

"Now, we must split up into separate tribes, bring back the women and children we have hidden in the mountains, and hide ourselves in the mountains to the east or north to find our own way. They would wait until Aum's army was gone. There is no other way for Shem to survive."

"No, you can't do that."

 Without thinking, Shiva interrupted him, forgetting the pecking order.

"He doesn't want us to live. Even today, he was punishing every fallen man. Orm wants to wipe us all out of Nosferus. If he doesn't, they will hunt us down and kill us, one tribe at a time, wherever we hide."

"Is this young one Roto's successor?"

 Curt asked with a scowl. Seeing that Roto nodded his head ambiguously, he seemed to have no choice,

"I'd hate to see you killed. I'm not saying we kill those who surrender. Besides, Nosferus is a big place. Once you hide yourself, you're not so easy to find."

"Nosferus is a large place. But even we Semites do not know all the geography within it."

 Sheba was eager.

"Wherever we know, the Om will eventually catch up with us. Where we do not know, we are in danger. We don't know what's in Nosferus. The Valley of the Id, the Sandhills - Shem does not know how long it took to nearly destroy that part of Nosferus before he made it his own."

"We'll figure that out later."

 The cult was in a terrible mood.

"Lhasa does not want any more deaths. Lhasa is a small tribe. If our numbers are reduced, the Lhasa will perish. Roto, if you don't agree to run for your life, then what the hell is Raak gonna do? Don't tell me you're going to stand up to Om any longer... because Shem can't fight. There's no strength left in him, not even in the sandhills."

"It's--"

 That's when Roto was about to say something.

"We have to fight!"

 A high-pitched, young woman's voice startled them.

"Miss Suni--"

 Sheba stretched out his hand in panic. Hearing her story, the Shemite girl appeared staggering, propping herself up on a rock, and painfully wrapped her head and shoulders with herbs.

"This is my granddaughter, Suni."

 Roto explained it to Curt's men.

"Grandfather, Lady Linda and Lord Remus have been taken to Om."

 Suni shouted in a high-pitched bird's chirping voice that was unique to the Semites.

"I need you both to help me. Get back to Om's position before morning and help them."

"Lady Suni!"

 Sheba took hold of the wobbling body of the Shem girl and forced her to sit down.

"The two of you saved Suni--now Suni has to save the two of you!"

"Sni--"

 Roto held up his hands in confusion.

"Yes. There is no other way for Shem to survive but to fight, Leard was told. Four more times, until the sun goes down, he said, and then he'll come back with reinforcements, and he would never break his word. He'll be here by tonight. So if you can hold out for one more day, like you did before, fighting a little and then running away, then Liard will come. Liard will bring help."

"Oh, Liard--"

 Roto muttered as he remembered. The cult was angry.

"One more day of running around with Orm, and by the time that one day is up, Shem will be a shadow of a man on this earth!"

"Grandfather, help Linda. Shiva, help Linda."

"Those two are Ohms."

 That's what the cult said.

"Om does not kill Om. But Shem does. Is it okay for Shem to die to save the two Ohms, guys?"

 There were shouts of "oyer" and "eer" in the air. Before they knew it, all the surviving warriors of Shem were gathered around the rock, listening intently to the proceedings.

"Ohm will kill Ohm."

 Suni shouted indignantly.

"When Suni was imprisoned in the castle of Om, he saw Om killing many Oms and beating them with sticks."

"That's because Orm is a demon."

 That's what the cult said.

"Shem won't die to save Orm."

"If we don't fight, Shem will kill us all!"

 This is it, Sheba stressed. As usual, Roto said nothing as he sank into thought.

"Fight!"

"Help Linda!"

"Hurry up and hide!"

 The three of them raised their voices to muffle each other's.

"Don't shout too loud."

 Roto gently interjects.

"If there's an Orm nearby, tonight, Shem will kill them all before they can run or fight."

 They all lowered their voices. But that didn't mean they were backing down.

"All right. Lak, if you want to fight, you can fight."

 The cult is spitting.

"Lhasa, go the way of Lhasa."

"Oh, no."

 Shiva clenched his fists.

"We've lost so many people, and without Rasa..."

"Rasa doesn't want any more people to die."

"The only way to survive is to fight!"

"Linda saved Suni's life!"

"Then Rak will return the favor. It's none of Rasa's business."

"Cult--"

 And Roto said softly.

"Your mother's mother is my sister's sister."

 The cult has been silenced.

 Roto turned around. An old, wise great white monkey.

"Glo, who's following Glo after Iracelli?"

"It's me. It's Utari, the son of Iracelli."

 Immediately there was an answer, and a large young glo stepped forward.

"What do you think, Glo?"

 Roto asked. Utari, apparently not yet accustomed to his power, looked around at the others behind him. A murmur went up from the crowd.

"Glo..."

 Utari stammered. He still didn't know how to respond and win Guro's heart as a leader.

"I told you, I've had enough of Iracelli."

 Suddenly, as if to bolster it, an old guro said from behind. A murmur of approval escaped weakly from the crowd.

"No, Iratelli is the bravest of the brave. If he were here, he would have tried to kill Orm. Iracelli was not a coward who would have let the enemy get the better of him."

 Shiva said, showing himself to be quite a politician.

 Guro seemed to be upset. Utari looked at Curt, at Roto, at Sheba, and he didn't know what to say.

 That's when.

"I'm telling you, Roto. This is not what I'm talking about."

 Suddenly, a loud, raspy voice broke in. The voice was so rough that all of us were frightened.

"Gaulo."

 Lotto sipped his heart out. To Roto, it was what he had expected.

"Karoi did not know of Aum's promise of a riad. But when Aum came to the village of Kaloy, he put in the word of the messengers of Lothor and Iracelli, and decided to fight with Rak and Glo. But Kalloi never promised to help Orm's child, whom he did not know, or to fight as a subordinate of Lothor or his liard."

"Gauro, listen to me..."

 Roto tried to tell him. But the fierce-looking Karoi chief ignored the old chief's dignity.

"Kalloi wants to hear Lotho's explanation. Roto's messenger said that if he fought with Roto, he could drive Aum away... and that was the only way Shem could survive. So Kalloi gave him his strength. But now he's saying he must run or fight. Did you deceive the karoi, Roto?"

"I don't have time to explain myself."

 Shiva screamed in anger.

"It's not Roto's fault. It would have been much different if Kalloi had joined our side earlier. Even if the karoi had known of Orm's surprise earlier, more of them could have escaped. That's how it is with war. I've never heard of anyone losing a war and having to explain it to his allies."

"Who's talking to you, kid?"

 Gauro replied insultingly.

"I'm talking to Loto."

"It's called a promise to Leard."

 The cult regained its strength and spoke up.

"What happened to the Leard? Where's the other Orm that Leard had with him? They didn't go to bring reinforcements. They left us to fight the Orms. They ran off to survive. Maybe those two kids were always with Orm. I don't believe in Aum. Four days, said the Laird. Those four days are gone. And there's no sign of him anywhere. That's all the proof I need.

"Wait."

 Gauro's voice had an unexpected crack to it.

"What are you talking about, the promise or the four days? Kaloy didn't tell me."

"Here's the thing."

 Reluctantly, Shiva explained. As he listened, Gauro's ugly face contorted as if he were mocking him.

"Wait four days." - Reinforcements? Reinforcements? Even lagoons? Ha!"

 You look awful grim and you scream.

"What kind of fairy tale is that-- a hostage taker? Ha! All you had to do was have Gauro here. It would have been a sight to behold if I had made such a ridiculous offer to Gauro."

 Utari cringes nervously.

"Karolyi doesn't know the Liard!"

 Sheba couldn't keep quiet anymore.

"How much Riyadh has done for Shem... Riyadh is not the kind of man to run away alone, leaving other Om behind. When Riyadh said he would come back with reinforcements, he would come back with reinforcements. With Riyadh, Shem will always win, even if there are ten times as many Ams as Shem."

"Lothor, this boy is too loud for me to talk to."

 Gauro bared his teeth and said with a great expression on his face.

"Kalloi can't believe in such nonsense as reinforcements and Alfetu's sons. And why should we go to the aid of Aum's child? If he's an Aum, let him help you. If not, leave him be. Kalloi has done his part. Now Kalloi will go on his way.

"And Glo. Glo's going with Kaloy."

 Utari, who had been wise behind him, cried out in panic. The Cult stepped forward as if to gain.

"Let's hide in the mountains."

"It's--"

 Before Shiva could shout, Roto looked at Gauro, relaxed and calm. Then he opened his mouth gravely.

"In other words, Kalloi is running away in a panic - he doesn't have the strength left to fight Orm."

"What do you mean?"

 Gauro chuckled as he tried to scream out.

"It's not in your hands."

 I'll tell you what, Roto.

"At any rate, Karolyi knows nothing of the riad. You can count on him to keep his word. If you insist on stopping Caloy, then fine, Caloy will do what he wants, even by force of arms."

"Gaulo!"

 Roto has stepped forward.

 Shiva's body tensed with fear. He stepped forward quickly and put his hand on the stone axe at his waist, accompanied by several of his raku.

 The karoi who followed Gauro immediately turned fierce and took up blowguns.

"Gawd!"

 A frightened, animalistic growl and snort escaped. The upper lips of Shem and the others spontaneously lifted up, and their teeth were bared.

 The danger of a catastrophe was upon them.

 Sheba, trying to protect his chief, shifted his feet slowly. If even Rasa stood by the side of the Karoi, it would be extremely difficult for the Rak clan alone to take on the four clans of Karoi, Guro, Rasa, and Tubai, even though the damage would be great. Even if the damage is great.

 But Sheba was going to wait, no matter what, until the return of his revered and unwanted riad.

 It was not possible for Sheba to think that the Liar would leave them and run away.

 A deep roar came out of Sheba's mouth.

 Roto stretched out his hand slowly. He was about to say something to scare Shem and the others away.

 That's when.

 A Rak warrior came rolling in and found Roto.

"Oh, my God, Lothar. Om's coming over here with a fire. He's looking for Shem."

 He was a warrior who, after last night's bitter failure, had belatedly been placed on guard duty. Roto did not say a word.

"Where are you?

"Lots of fire, moving through the dunes. It's not more than half a day's walk from here."

"Gauro, cult, utari."

 Roto said briefly.

"No more fighting. Let's take all the warriors and go to Gudu Mountain immediately."

"Mount Gutou? That's where the dreaded wolf pack lives."

 The cult tried to intervene. But he kept his mouth shut. He knew he didn't have time to say it.

"I'm not giving up the fight, but--"

 Roto added softly.

"I just need time to regroup."

"Are you still insinuating that. Or are you counting on, say, Liard? The traitor who abandoned us and ran."

 Gauro will decide.

"Eventually, we'll know."

 And that's all Roto said. He stood up to give the order. There,

"Ohm's coming over here. They're everywhere."

 The second guard comes running in. Shem and his men were in an uproar. They were not allowed even a night's rest.